Part-3

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SWOT


Strengths (Internal)

1. MC has MLIS certified SLMS
2. Weekly television news program makes the SLMC fun and has the ability to show students that the media center is not just a place for books, but for information that is relevant to their lives
3. Recent addition of a school blog for reading clubs and instructional opportunities.
4. The MC is used for other activities such as chess club meetings, tutoring, debate team meetings, etc. – meaning that kids/staff take advantage of the space
5. Teachers and SLMS collaborate
6. Librarian knows the kids and teachers and their needs


Weaknesses (Internal)


    1. Small collection (GJ will update the background document to say 4,000 volumes, let me know if that is still too many)
    2. Too few computers in the media center, and current units do not allow access for students with special needs.
    3. No written customer service policy
    4. Censorship through lightspeed filtering software on computers
    5. Lack of professional library - (opportunity for mc to help build resources for teachers to find lesson plans, web tools, differentiated learning, etc. - Lynne)
    6. Outdated collection
    7. ​ Lack of ethic/cultural diversity in collection (added by Kathy M.)

Opportunities (External)


  1. District received ARRA funds that are to be used to improve technology for public schools
  2. Small district size allows membership in Northeast Florida Educational Consortium, which provides assistance with professional development and technology for small school districts
  3. School involvement in the Title 1- Part A federal program
  4. Obtain funding to stay open after school
  5. Build a multicultural collection of books
  6. HS received a B in the state school grading program showing that students are obtaining above average scores in reading, math, writing and science
  7. Grant research for funding of new programs.
  8. Scholastic book fairs
  9. New superintendant of school could be an advocate for the media center in the community to help it obtain funding in order to achieve its goals
10. Small town effect is positively carried over to the school atmosphere

Threats (External)



      1. new superintendant may not support the media center and may divert funds from the media center to other schools in the community
      2. Conservative community may censor books and other media; thereby limiting information access for students.
      4. Significant number of community members may not value education since only 68.2% of the Lafayette population has a HS degree compared to 79.9% of the overall Florida population
      5. Media center located in a rural community
      6. Media center located in a poor community (low median income) (Poverty is detrimental to reading skills too, because people in poverty watch more tv than read books. One study showed kids in poverty had exposure to 3 million less words that kids in middle and upper class families.)
      7. Difficult to obtain federal funding since such a small community